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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Nifty August 2009 futures were at 4468, at a discount of 3.35 points as compared to the spot closing of 4471.35. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment was Rs 63,519.37 crore, lower than Rs 68,493.48 crore on Monday, 10 August 2009.

Reliance Industries August 2009 futures were at a slight discount at 1999, compared to the spot closing of 2000.40.

Tata Steel August 2009 futures were at premium at 465.50 compared to the spot closing of 463.10.

ICICI Bank August 2009 futures were at premium at 718.45 compared to the spot closing of 717.10.

In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty gained 33.70 points or 0.76% at 4471.35.

The stock market witnessed strong volatility, swinging 355 points during intra-day trades, as shares gyrated sharply between zones. Taking cue from mixed global indices, the Sensex started on a negative note at 15000, as a sharp bout of profit-taking pulled the index below 14900 mark to an intra-day low of 14864. While the market remained lacklustre with a negative bias, the Sensex rolled back to the green by mid-noon trades on renewed buying support and surged to an intra-day high of 15219. However, a fresh round of profit-taking towards the fag end saw the Sensex pare its gains and end at 15075, up only 65 points, while Nifty added 33 points to close at 4471.

State-run NHPC's initial public offer (IPO) was subscribed by a 5.54 times by 16:00 IST on Tuesday, 11 August 2009. The IPO got bids for 929.01 crore shares as against 168 crore shares offered by the company. More than 41.50 crore shares were bid at cut off price.

NHPC is selling 168 crore shares comprising of 5% divestment of stake by the government and infusion of 10% fresh equity. The price band for the IPO is Rs 30 to Rs 36 per equity share.

The issue will constitute 13.64% of the post-issue capital of NHPC. The IPO closes on 12 August 2009.

NHPC is the largest hydroelectric power generating company in the country. It has 13 operating hydro electric power (HEP) plants with an installed capacity of 5,175 megawatts (MW) including two power stations of total 1,520-MW capacity set up through its joint venture subsidiary Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC). Current total generating capacity is 5,134.2 MW, taking into account the downgrade of the capacity ratings of Loktak and Tanakpur power stations by the Central Electricity Authority.

NHPC is constructing 11 additional hydroelectric projects, which are expected to increase the installed capacity by 4,622 MW. These plants, barring Teesta Low Dam IV, are mostly in the north and northeastern states and scheduled to be commissioned between December 2009 and March 2013. The Teesta Low Dam IV project is coming up in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

NHPC is also awaiting government sanction to build another five projects with an anticipated capacity of 4,565 MW on its own and another 2,166-MW capacity projects through certain JV projects. In addition, the company is surveying and investigating proposals for nine additional projects totaling 7,255 MW of anticipated capacity.

Apart from development and operation of HEP projects, NHPC also develops, designs, and delivers HEP station to clients. The company has executed two HEP projects, i.e. Kurichhu HEP in Bhutan and Devighat HEP in Nepal, on contract. Further, it also provides technical, management advisory and consultancy services to domestic and international clients.

NHPC's consolidated net profit rose 3% to Rs 1244.15 crore on 19.2% growth in sales to Rs 3493.71 crore in the year ended March 2009 (FY 2009) over the year ended March 2008.

On post-IPO equity of Rs 12300.74 crore, the EPS for FY 2009 works out to Rs 1 and the PE is 30-36 times at the offer price band of Rs 30-Rs 36.

Stock markets in Asian region extended gains for the second day on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, as optimism about a global economic recovery. An upward revision to the Asian economic growth forecast for the year by Goldman Sachs and relief that Chinese economic recovery was on track also helped lift market sentiment.

On Wall Street, equity markets closed slightly lower as the mood on Wall Street seemed to be why not take some profits here. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 32 points, or 0.3% to 9338. The S&P 500 was down 3.4 points, or 0.3%, to 1007. The Nasdaq Composite was lower by 8 points, or 0.4%, to 1992.

In the commodity market, crude oil traded little changed above $70 a barrel in New York on speculation global demand for fuels will rebound as economies emerge from recession.

Crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as 50 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $71.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $71.04 at 3:08 p.m. in Singapore. Yesterday, the contract fell 33 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $70.60.

Brent crude oil for September on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange rose as much as 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $73.99 a barrel. The contract traded at $73.94 a barrel at 3:15 p.m. in Singapore.

Gold traded near the lowest this month on speculation that the dollar will continue to advance on data pointing to a recovery in the U.S. jobs market. Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $946.15 an ounce at 8:56 a.m. in Singapore.

In the currency market, US dollar stabilizes in Asia and retreats mildly in early European trading after another round of buying in last US session. Yen followed and extended gain following weaker industrial production data from China, which nevertheless showed 10.8% year on year gain. Nevertheless, yen crosses lost steam after hitting near term support levels.

The Japanese yen strengthened against major currencies after China also said producer prices and consumer prices both declined. The Japanese yen was quoted at 96.70 per greenback.

The Hong Kong dollar was trading at HK$ 7.7503 against the dollar. Actually The Hong Kong dollar is pegged at HK$ 7.8 to the U.S. dollar but can trade between HK$ 7.75 and HK$7.85 to the U.S. dollar.

In Sydney trade, the Australian dollar closed marginally lower after a quiet session where the currency remained within recent ranges. At the local close, the dollar was trading at $US0.8373, down from Monday's close of $US0.8389. During the day, the unit moved between $US0.8322 and $US0.8382.

In Wellington trade, the New Zealand dollar consolidated in a relatively narrow range today as analysts continued to debate investor behavior in the US dollar market.

At domestic closing, the NZ dollar was buying US67.35c, down from US67.59c at 8am and unchanged from 5pm yesterday. It traded between US67.30c and US67.70c today.

The South Korean won ended at 1,239.1 won against the dollar, down 10.9 won from Monday's close, as the greenback remained strong in markets across the world.

The Taiwan dollar weakened further against the greenback. The Taiwan dollar gave up against the US dollar as it was trading lower at NT$ 32.8480, down by NT$ 0.0300 from Monday’s close of NT$32.8180.

Coming back in equities, Asian stock markets closed mostly higher in choppy trading, with investors largely shrugging off fresh data from China while awaiting the results of the FOMC meeting in the U.S. Markets were moving in a narrow range after Wall Street pulled back slightly from the 2009 highs hit Friday.

On the economic front, the Bank of Japan left rates unchanged at 0.1% in a unanimous vote as widely expected and left the cautiously optimistic assessment on the economy unchanged. The bank said that Japan's economic conditions have stopped worsening, and public investment is increasing and exports and production are picking up. However, the bank also said business fixed investment is declining sharply mainly reflecting weak corporate profits. On inflation, the bank said that decline in CPI has accelerated due to fall in petroleum prices and substantial slack persisting in the economy as a whole. In other news, Japanese household confidence rose more than expected to 39.4 in July.

In Mainland China, share market snapped four days of loosing streak, after the release of July’s inflation and retail sales figures, which were largely in line with market expectations. Consumer-related companies gained after the nation’s retail sales expanded and Qingdao Haier reported higher profit. Shares of banks were higher.

At the closing bell, the Shanghai Composite Index, measuring A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, rose 0.46% to 3,264.73, while the CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, added 0.33% to 3,556.38.

On the economic front, the National Bureau of Statistics said China’s producer price index (PPI), a major measurement of inflation at the wholesale level, fell 8.2% year on year in July 2009. China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, dipped 1.8% in July from a year earlier. China’s power generation expanded 4.8% in July from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The NBS also said China's retail sales rose 15.2 percent in July to 993.7 billion yuan from a year earlier. Urban fixed-asset investment rose 32.9% year-on-year in the first seven months to 9.59 trillion yuan. The industrial output accelerated 10.8% in July from a year earlier, after gaining 10.7% in June.

China’s money supply, as measured by M2, expanded 28.4% in July from the same month a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the People’s Bank of China. The central bank also said new loans for July totaled 355.9 billion yuan ($52 billion), easing from June’s issuance of 1.53 trillion yuan, and bringing total lending growth this year to 7.7 trillion yuan, a rise of 173.2% from the first seven months of last year

China’s exports fell 23% in July from a year earlier, while imports fell 14.9%, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday. The trade surplus in July was $10.63 billion, compared with $8.2 billion in June.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index surged, after opening lower, ignoring a weak finish on Wall Street and a decline in base metal prices. Shares of China Construction Bank and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing led the rally. Gains were further supported by China July’s inflation and retail sales figures, which were largely in line with market expectations. The Hang Seng Index advanced 144.69 points, or 0.69 %, to 21,074.21, while the Hang Seng China Enterprise has bounced 87.14 points, or 0.73%, to 11,988.79.

In Australia, the stock market shrugged off a negative lead from Wall Street to end the session at a 2009 high, boosted by strong performance from banks stocks outweighing falls from the miners. Meanwhile, buying pressure was evident in industrials, consumer Discretionary, and properties.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 27.9 points, or 0.65%, to 4,332.0, meanwhile the broader All Ordinaries advanced 25.2 points, or 0.58%, to 4,334.40.

On the economic front, National Australia Bank Monthly Business Survey for July 2009 indicated Business confidence in Australia rose to nearly a two-year high in July. Business confidence index advanced by 6.0 points from June to hit 10.0 Points. But business conditions index, which measures current business conditions, was up 3.0 points to an index reading of 1.0.

In other figures from the survey, NAB expects some softening ahead but has lifted its GDP forecast for Australia in 2009 to 0%, from 0.5% contraction. NAB has also forecast peak unemployment of 7.3% in 2010 from July 2009 rate of 5.8%.

In New Zealand, equities ended lower on Tuesday after registering two consecutive gains. The New Zealand share market slipped in early trading, after a pull back in major stock indices in the United States. The NZX50 fell by 0.83% or 25.50 points to 3055.47. The NZX 15 decreased 1.09% or 60.71 points to close at 5595.31.

In South Korea, shares closed up 0.2% as foreign investors extended their buying streak, bolstered by upbeat economic signals from the central bank. After trading in a tight-range, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 3.1 points to 1,579.21.

In Singapore, the stock market surged on broad based buying across the board after Singapore revised its economic growth slightly higher for the second quarter. Banks and properties led the rally. Meanwhile buying pressure was evident in manufacturing, multi industries, and construction shares. The blue chip Straits Times Index bounced 47.95 points, or 1.88%, to 2,597.30.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 20.7% sequentially in the second quarter, reversing a 12.2% contraction in the first quarter. Manufacturing surged 49.5%, construction jumped 32.7%, and financial services rose 22.8% from the previous quarter, the ministry said.

The growth was largely due to a surge in production in pharmaceutical ingredients, leading to an overall jump in biomedical output. Financial services was boosted by sentiment-sensitive segments such as stock market activities

Singapore said it was comfortable with its monetary policy stance of zero appreciation for the Singapore dollar, warning better-than-expected second quarter growth may not be sustained. Singapore maintained its 2009 forecast for the economy to contract by 4 to 6% and said a subdued recovery was likely to continue in 2010, after the trade dependent city-state leapt out of recession in the second quarter.

In Taiwan, stock market advanced for the second straight session, as falloff in financial stocks was compensated by the upsurge in the technology shares. However, the advance of limited as government started counting the impact of the typhoon Morakot. The Council of Agriculture (COA) is coordinating with food suppliers to import vegetables in emergency in order to fill the shortfall caused by the heavy loss of agricultural products inflicted by typhoon Morakot. The main Taiex share index added 26.15 points or 0.38%, closing the day at 6909.02.

On the economic front, Taiwan’s export value hit a nine-month high of US$17.27 billion in July, up US$330 million or 1.9% from a month earlier.

According to the statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the July export value presented a double-digit fall of 24.4% from a year earlier, yet for the lowest drop of its kind in eight months. This, in turn, bodes a rebound in the island’s economy.

Huang Chih-peng, director general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), analyzed that the improvement in export value in July might last through the following months and the negative growth is very likely to fall under 20% in August and drop further to below 10% in September.

In July Taiwan’s top 10 export items witnessed remarkable improvement in export value. Among them, chemical products saw export value hit a 10-month high with negative annual growth narrowing to 15.9% from the corresponding 53.1% recorded in January this year. Besides, electronic items, plastic & rubber products, and optical apparatuses all saw their exports hit a nine-month high.

In the same month Taiwan’s imports inched up by US$60 million to US$15.24 billion, also a nine-month high and edging up 0.4% from June; and the trade surplus for the month stood at US$2.03 billion. The top five import items were minerals (including crude oil), electronics, chemicals, basic metal & related products, and machinery. Among them, minerals posted a monthly rise of US$570 million in import value.

In Philippines, the equities ended marginally higher amid a nervous trading session in Asia today as the familiar sense of anxiety ahead of the US Fed meet filled in the sentiments in the global marketplace. At the final bell, the benchmark index escalated 0.34% or 9.96 points to 2,860.54, while the All Shares index climbed 0.32% or 5.82 points to 1,813.28.

In India, volatility ruled the roost as the market did a total reversal after surging to a fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 64.82 points or 0.43% at 15,074.59. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 0.76% or 33.70 points to 4,471.35.

Elsewhere, Malaysia's Kula Lumpur Composite index went down 0.14% or 1.72 points to 1186.28 while stock markets in Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index ended the day higher at 2399.28.

In other regional market, European shares edged lower on Tuesday, down for the second time in four sessions, with miners and oil producers some of the strongest performers in early action. On a regional level in Europe, the U.K. FTSE 100 index fell 0.13% to 4,716; the German DAX index gave up 0.25% or 13.71 points at 5,405 and the French CAC-40 index gained 0.13% or 4.42 points at 3,509.

The key benchmark indices snapped last three days' losses, posting small gains, in a highly volatile trading session. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries edged higher in choppy late trade. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 64.82 points or 0.43%, up close to 210 points from the day's low and off close to 140 points from the day's high. The Sensex alternatively moved above and below the psychological 15,000 mark, ultimately closing above that mark. The barometer index BSE Sensex had plunged 894.06 points or 5.62% in the preceding three trading sessions.

Auto stocks rose on bargain hunting after heavy losses in the past three trading sessions. But IT stocks fell. The market breadth swung between positive and negative zone in late trade.

Intraday volatility was high. The key benchmark indices fell in early trade extending last three days' near 6% losses on concerns below-normal rains may hamper a nascent economic recovery. Bargain hunting triggered a recovery later. The barometer index regained the psychological 15,000 mark in morning trade after falling below that mark in early trade.

The Sensex surged in early afternoon trade after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government is prepared to manage a drought and a contingency plan was also in place. The market pared gains in afternoon trade. The market jumped to hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. A sudden slide pulled the market into the red shortly thereafter. The market regained positive zone later.

Investors are worried that scanty rains may hamper a nascent revival in the domestic economy. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday, 10 August 2009, pared its forecast for the June-September South West monsoon for a second time in three months and said state governments were free to announce drought. Rain in the June-September season will be 87% of the long-period average, compared with 93% in June 2009, Ajit Tyagi, director general at India Meteorological Department said. Rainfall could be 4% more or less than the estimate, he said.

The June-September rains are the main source of irrigation for farms and are crucial for Asia's third-largest economy as more than two-thirds of the people live in villages and 60% of the farm land depends on the annual rains.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that threat of a drought looms large over 161 districts and sowing of crops was down by a fifth. Mukherjee said the government is sticking to a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of more than 6% for the year ending March 2010 (FY 2010). He was confident that direct tax receipts target for FY 2010 would be surpassed.

European shares edged lower on Tuesday on profit taking after recent strong gains. Key benchmark indices in Germany and UK were down by between 0.13% to 0.17%. But France's CAC 40 rose 0.13%.

Most Asian stocks edged higher after the latest data showed China's industrial production and investments in urban fixed assets increased at a rapid in July 2009, keeping alive expectations government policies will continue to support an economic recovery. The data was, however, short of market expectations. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore were up by between 0.2% to 1.88%.

China's industrial production climbed 10.8% in July 2009 after a 10.7% advance in June 2009.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.58%. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1% and refrained from unveiling any new measures as policy makers focused on the risk that recent economic improvements will fail to translate into a sustainable recovery.

Trading in US index futures indicated Dow could fall 18 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 11 August 2009. US index futures moved between gains and losses.

Investors focus this week is on a meeting of the US Federal Reserve which begins later in the day. While the Fed is likely to keep interest rates unchanged, the focus will be on an accompanying statement to see whether it will give any hints about how long the Fed will continue its highly stimulative monetary policy. The two-day Fed meeting ends on Wednesday, 12 August 2009.

US stocks retreated after a choppy start on Monday, 10 August 2009 as investors booked profits after a four-week rally in the absence of market-moving earnings announcements and no economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32.12 points, or 0.3%, to 9,337.95. The S&P 500 index fell 3.38 points, or 0.3%, to 1,007.10, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.01 points, or 0.4%, to 1,992.24.

Back home, the initial public offer (IPO) of NHPC, which opened for subscription on Friday 7 August 2009, was subscribed 5.54 times. At 16:00 IST on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, the NHPC IPO received bids for 929.01 crore shares compared to the issue size of 167.7 crore shares. NHPC is planning to raise Rs 6,040 crore at the upper end of the issue price band of Rs 36. The government kickstarts the divestment process by selling shares in NHPC.

Investors feel economic reforms will boost economic growth and corporate earnings over the medium term. The Q1 June 2009 results of India Inc were encouraging, with lower costs helping bottomline growth. The combined net profit of 3,247 companies rose 17% to Rs 73670 crore on 5% fall in sales to Rs 725409 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

Meanwhile, cases of swine flu viral infection are going up as it spreads its wings across the country. Swine flu has so far claimed seven lives. Stopping short of pressing the panic button following alarming rise of swine flu cases, the Centre on Monday decided to rush expert teams to all the state headquarters to assess the preparedness in terms of isolation capacity and clinical assessment in different hospitals both in the Government sector and the private sector.

This was part of a series of decisions taken after an emergent meeting chaired by Union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad as deaths due to swine flu continue to rise. With cases of viral infection going up, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Sunday asked the Health Ministry to co-ordinate with state governments to check further spread of the disease.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 64.82 points or 0.43% at 15,074.59. The Sensex rose 208.88 points at the day's high of 15,218.65 in mid-afternoon trade. At the day's low of 14,864.23, the Sensex fell 145.54 points in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 33.70 points or 0.76% to 4,471.35. Nifty August 2009 futures were at 4468, at a discount of 3.35 points as compared to the spot closing of 4471.35. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment was Rs 63,519.37 crore, lower than Rs 68,493.48 crore on Monday, 10 August 2009.

Equities have risen sharply this year on the back of heavy buying by foreign funds. The Sensex was up 5427.28 points or 56.25% in calendar year 2009 as on 11 August 2009. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex was up 6,914.19 points or 84.72% as on 11 August 2009.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, moved between positive and negative zone throughout the day. On BSE, 1,352 shares advanced as compared with 1,280 that declined. A total of 95 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was negative in early trade.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 17 rose while the rest fell.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.1% and the BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.55%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.49% to Rs 1996. The stock hit a high of Rs 2047.30 and a low of Rs 1975. Days after Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) unleashed a scathing attack against his elder brother and Chairman of petrochemical major Reliance Industries (RIL), on the issue of supply of gas from the Krishna Godavari basin (KG basin) by RIL to RNRL, the Mukesh Ambani group on Friday, 7 August 2009, rejected all the allegations as baseless and malafide.

Clarifying RIL's point, Atul Chandra, RIL's president for petroleum business, started by saying that Anil Ambani had attempted to convert a legal issue pending in the highest court of the country into a public matter for purely self serving interest aimed at personal and private gain, while overwhelmingly rejecting all of Anil's accusations. He said it was a smartly orchestrated campaign unleashed to malign RIL in the public domain even when the issue was subjudice.

Earlier, petroleum minister Murli Deora in Parliament on Thursday, 6 August 2009 said that the price approved by the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) for RIL gas from the KG D6 field was lower than the price it had approved for some of the other operators in the country. Deora said the price of $4.2 was lower than the price of $5.5 charged for gas from the Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT) field by a group consisting RIL, ONGC and British Gas. The Anil Ambani group (ADAG) had called the price of $4.2 exorbitant, pointing out that most of the natural gas in the country is being sold at $1.8 to $2.4 per unit.

The Ambani brothers have been at loggerheads since the death of their father in 2002, and a 2005 settlement saw the Reliance group split into two. The Supreme Court on 30 July 2009 said, it will give a date on 1 September 2009 to expedite the decision.

Shares of three public sector oil marketing companies rose on expectations that a hike in retail fuel prices in early July 2009 may boost Q2 September 2009 results. HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) rose by between 0.11% to 0.3%. But fell 0.5%. On 1 July 2009, the government had hiked petrol price by Rs 4 per litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre.

The three public sector oil marketing firms reported strong Q1 June 2009 results as they incurred negligible underrecoveries on domestic sale of fuel at controlled prices. The strong performance was despite lack of any oil bonds from the government.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors was up 6.81% on reports the company has secured a debt facility for its Jaguar and Land Rover operations.

Bank stocks were mixed. India's biggest commercial bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.04% to Rs 1729.70. The stock hit a high of Rs 1754 and a low of Rs 1706.50.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank fell 0.38% to Rs 716.60 as its ADR fell 5.71% on Monday, 10 August 2009. The stock hit a high of Rs 730 and a low of Rs 708.60.

India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank was flat at Rs 1379.15. The stock hit a high of Rs 1390 and a low of Rs 1353.50.

IT stocks fell in volatile trade on profit taking after recent strong gains triggered by hopes of recovery in the US economy. India's IT companies derive a lion's share of revenues from exports to the US.

India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys fell 0.25% to Rs 2,081.65 as its American depository receipt (ADR) fell 1.03% on Monday. The stock hit a high of Rs 2109 and a low of Rs 2055. The company, last week, signed an agreement with BanColombia SA for its Finacle software to be used by the Colombian bank and its overseas units.

India's third largest IT exporter by sales Wipro fell 0.64% to Rs 509.55 even as its ADR rose 1.89% on Monday. The stock hit a high of Rs 522 and a low of Rs 501.50. The company, last week, bagged a five-year contract with US apparel retailer Charming Shoppes Inc. to provide information technology services.

But India's largest IT exporter by sales TCS rose 0.53%. The company recently bagged an order from multi-brand discount chain The Loot. TCS will manage the back-end and software support system for the retail chain.

Power stocks rose as the NHPC IPO received robust investor response. Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power, PowerGrid Corporation of India, CESC, GVK Power & Infrastructure, rose by between 0.59% to 6.87%.

India's largest steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 1.57% on reports the company plans to raise Rs 5000 crore through issue of securities and is seeking shareholder approval for the fund raising. The funds will be used for capital expenditure, the repayment of debt, acquisitions and working capital.

India's largest copper maker by sales Sterlite Industries rose 0.47% after the company said it has revised its offer to acquire Asarco, reducing the value of a copper price participation deal to $208 million, from a previous level of $770 million. The company will also offer $1.59 billion in cash. The consideration was changed to reflect an increase in copper prices and to meet the expectations of creditors, the firm said.

Sterlite and Grupo Mexico are facing off in a Texan court in the final stage of a year-long tussle for acquiring the US based copper miner, which sought court protection in 2005 amid a worker strike and more than $1 billion of environmental damage and asbestos claims.

India's largest realty player by market capitalization DLF was little changed at Rs 362.55 after an intraday volatility on reports a consortium of the company and IL&FS plans to raise Rs 700 crore ($146 million) to part fund the construction of a metro rail system in New Delhi suburbs. The stock hit a high of Rs 372.35 and a low of Rs 357.30.

Companies making oseltamivir (Tamiflu) rose following the spread of the deadly swine flu in India. Ranbaxy Laboratories, GloxoSmithkline Pharma and Natco Pharma rose by between 1.59% to 18.93%. But Cipla fell 0.48%

India's largest mobile services provider by sales Bharti Airtel rose 2.23%. As per reports, Bharti Airtel's attempts for a merger deal with South Africa's MTN may run into turbulence with a group of investors asking market regulator Sebi to investigate multiple aspects of the proposed deal. The Indian Investors Protection Council (IIPC) has reportedly written to the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman C B Bhave asking the stock market regulator to investigate if regulations have been breached for exempting MTN from making an open offer to Indian shareholders.

Construction shares rose on bargain hunting after recent fall. The government's thrust on the infrastructure sector in the Union Budget 2009-2010, may result in increase order flow for construction firms. Nagarjuna Construction Company,Gammon India, Era Infra Engineering, Hindustan Construction Company, rose by between 0.32% to 2.87%.

Some cement stocks fell on profit taking after a recent surge triggered by healthy July 2009 monthly sales. UltraTech Cement, Grasim Industries, Birla Corporation fell by between 0.04% to 0.97%.

Sugar stocks rose as the price of the sweetener soared more than 20% in the overseas market in the past eight sessions to new historic high. Dhampur Sugar, Balrampur Chini, Shree Renuka Sugars and Bajaj Hindustan rose by between 0.33% to 4.97%.

Today domestic markets are likely have gap down opening on the back of weak global cues as US markets closed lower on Monday. However, Asian markets are trading mixed in early trading. Additionally, lower than normal monsoon rains and spread of the deadly swine flu in the country will also fuel the sentiments. Domestic stockss may witness volatility during the trading.

On Monday, Market belled the day on positive note backed by the firm cues from the US and Asian markets. The US stocks markets closed higher on Friday by logging impressive gains for the week due to the better-than-expected jobs report. Moreover, US jobs report revealed that fewest amount of job losses in nearly one year by coming in at 247,000 for July as against the consensus estimate called for 350,000 job losses. Further, Indian benchmark indices turned volatile soon after start and pared all initial gains. However, market managed to regain strength and moved into positive before losing strength yet again. Going ahead, stocks continued to swing between positive and negative terrain without any sign of recovery. During the final trading hours, market slipped sharply to close with losses on weak European markets. Investors’ were also worried on lesser than normal rain that may interrupt a hopeful revival in the domestic economy. From the sectoral front, most of the selling was observed in Auto, FMCG, Capital Goods, Realty, PSU, Power and Bank stocks. The border market indices also followed the same trend as BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with losses of more than 2% each. However, IT and Teck stocks remained in limelight as witnessed most of the buying from these baskets.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 150.47 points or (0.99%) at 15,009.77 and NSE Nifty ended down by 43.75 points or (0.98%) at 4,437.65. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with losses of 92.77 and 120.73 points at 5,340.48 and 6,073.03 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 15,417.34 and intraday low of 14,902.02.

On Monday, US stock markets closed lower on profit booking after a four-week rally. Stocks slipped also ahead of vital economic data, including Federal Reserve''s statement on interest rates, due this week. Market was choppy during the trading in the absence of market-moving earnings announcements and no economic data. US light crude oil futures for September delivery closed at $70.62 per barrel lower by 0.4% on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices fell ahead of this week''s U.S. consumer spending data that could shed light on the strength of the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed lower by 32.12 points at 9,337.95, NASDAQ index declined by 8.01 points to 1,992.24 and the S&P 500 (SPX) closed lower by 3.38 points at 1,007.10.

Today major stock markets in Asia are trading mixed. Shanghai Composite is up by 2.11 points at 3,251.87. Japan''s Nikkei is trading high by 20.67 points at 10,544.93 followed by Strait Times and Seoul Composite up by 36.15 and 0.33 points at 2,585.50 and 1,576.44 respectively. However, Hang Seng is down by 51.81 points at 20,877.71 and Taiwan Weighted is low by 59.59 points at 6,823.28.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Monday. However, losers outnumbered the gainers. In the banking space, ICICI Bank was down 5.91% and HDFC Bank was down 3.01%. In the telecom space, MTNL was down 5.71% and Tata Communication was down 2.57%. In the IT space, Infosys was down 1.03%, Satyam Computers was down 0.54% while Wipro was up 1.89% and Patni Computers was up 3.54%. In other sectors, Dr Reddy''s Labs was down 3.75%, Tata Motors was down 2.46% and Sterlite Industries was down 2.25%.

The FIIs on Monday stood as net sellers in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 2,141.80 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 2,987.90 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 463.40 Crore, while gross debt sold stood at Rs 699.60 Crore. The net investment of equity reported was Rs (846.10) Crore and net debt was Rs (236.30) Crore.

On Monday, the partially convertible rupee ended at 47.81/82, 0.08% stronger than its previous close at 47.85/86. Expectations of inflows from institutional share placements helped rupee gain strength.

On BSE, total number of shares traded were 38.90 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 5,536.76 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded were 84.85 Crore and total turnover was Rs 17,133.82 Crore.

Top traded volumes on NSE Nifty – Suzlon Energy with total volume traded 63215845 shares, followed by Unitech with 52117641, Bharti Airtel with 15902099, Hindalco with 12831031 and Tata Steel with 11816809 shares.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 877483 with a total turnover of Rs 18,656.28 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 535813 with a total turnover of Rs 16,498.55 crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1379213 with a total turnover of Rs 31,772.73 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 49937 and notional turnover was Rs 1,565.92 Crore.

Today, Nifty would have a support at 4,352 and resistance at 4,524 and BSE Sensex has support at 14,719 and resistance at 15,294.

The market is likely to remain under pressure following an overnight fall on the US market and weakness among major Asian indices in the ongoing trades and it may exhibit strong volatility during the intra-day trades. However, the bullish sentiment may help the market to get some buying support in initial trades. Among the key local indices, the Nifty could decline to 4325 on the downside while on the upside there is a near term resistance at 4480. The Sensex has a likely support at 14888 and may face resistance at 15256.

US indices tumbled Monday, as investors pulled back ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting and following a big rally that pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to 9-month highs. While the Dow Jones tumbled by 32 points to close at 9338, the Nasdaq dropped 8 points at 1992.

Major Indian ADRs, too, buckled under selling pressure on the US bourses. ICICI Bank & MTNL slipped over 5%, Dr Reddy declined 3.75%, HDFC Bank dropped 3.01%, Tata Motors lost 2.46% and VSNL lost 2.57% while Infosys and Satyam slipped marginally. However, Patni Computers, Rediff and Wipro closed with the marginal gains.

Crude oil prices lost, with the Nymex light crude oil for September series lost by 33 cents to close at $70.60 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for December series lost $12.60 to settle at $946.90 a troy ounce.

The key benchmark indices may extend last three days of losses tracking weak global cues. Fears of below-normal rains may hamper a nascent economic recovery and concerns about the spread of the deadly swine flu may further weigh on investor sentiment.

The Asian stocks fell today on profit taking after recent solid surge. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan fell by between 0.02% to 0.67%. Singapore's Straits Times rose 1.12%.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2%.The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1% and refrained from unveiling any new measures as policy makers focused on the risk that recent economic improvements will fail to translate into a sustainable recovery.

China's industrial output growth accelerated on record loans and stimulus spending. Industrial production climbed 10.8 % in July 2009 over July 2008 after a 10.7% advance in June 2009.

The US markets retreated after a choppy start on Monday, 10 August 2009 as investors booked profits following a four-week rally in the absence of market-moving earnings announcements and no economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32.12 points, or 0.3%, to 9,337.95. The S&P 500 index fell 3.38 points, or 0.3%, to 1,007.10, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.01 points, or 0.4%, to 1,992.24.

Back home, the key benchmark indices extended losses for the third straight day on Monday, 10 August 2009 on fears below-normal rains may hamper a nascent economic recovery. The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 150.47 points or 0.99% at 15,009.77. The barometer index BSE Sensex has plunged 894.06 points or 5.62% in last three trading sessions. From a 14-month closing high of 15,924.23 on 3 August 2009, the Sensex has lost 914.46 points or 5.74% in last five trading sessions.

Investors are worried that scanty rains may hamper a nascent revival in the domestic economy. Annual monsoon rains, vital for sugarcane, oilseeds and other crops, began disastrously with the driest June in 83 years followed by near-normal rainfall in many parts of India in July, but this month, India received barely a third of normal rain. The total rainfall deficit in the country since the season began in June was 28 % by 8 August from 25 % three days earlier. Low rainfall has heightened concerns of crop damage, encouraging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask states to take prompt steps to ease rural distress.

The South West monsoon rains were 64% below normal in the seven days to 5 August 2009, dipping for the second straight week at a crucial period for The June-September rains are the main source of irrigation for farms and are crucial for Asia's third-largest economy as more than two-thirds of the people live in villages and 60% of the farm land depends on the annual rains.

The initial public offer (IPO) of NHPC, which opened for subscription on Friday 7 August 2009, was subscribed 3.73 times. At the end of second day of IPO, the NHPC IPO received bids for 626.48 crore shares compared to the issue size of 167.7 crore shares. NHPC is planning to raise Rs 6,040 crore at the upper end of the issue price band of Rs 36. The government kickstarts the divestment process by selling shares in NHPC.

Investors feel economic reforms will boost economic growth and corporate earnings over the medium term. The Q1 June 2009 results of India Inc were encouraging, with lower costs helping bottomline growth. The combined net profit of 3,224 companies rose 17% to Rs 73671 crore on 5% fall in sales to Rs 724330 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

Meanwhile cases of swine flu viral infection are going up as it spreads its wings across the country. Swine flu has so far claimed seven lives. Stopping short of pressing the panic button following alarming rise of swine flu cases, the Centre on Monday decided to rush expert teams to all the state headquarters to assess the preparedness in terms of isolation capacity and clinical assessment in different hospitals both in the Government sector and the private sector. This was part of a series of decisions taken after an emergent meeting chaired by Union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad as deaths due to swine flu continue to rise. With cases of viral infection going up, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Sunday asked the Health Ministry to co-ordinate with state governments to check further spread of the disease.

The hurt bulls understand that recovery comes in different shapes and sizes. Some expect it to be ‘V’ shaped; others reckon it will be ‘U’ shaped; there are a few who believe it will be a ‘W’ shaped turnaround. In summary, we are on track for a slow and steady recovery rather than a swift one. Locally, a below par monsoon will negate the positive effect of the stimulus measures. The panic over the outbreak of swine flu is avoidable though.

Globally, the Fed is likely to maintain its accommodative stance given the fragility of the US economy. It is expected to repeat the phrase that ‘recession is moderating’. Inflation comes secondary for most central banks, though it will start to spike from later this year.

We expect a flat to cautious opening as global cues are indecisive. There could be a slight rebound after the recent reversals. We remain cautiously optimistic and see a choppy yet range-bound market.

For those who follow the Dow Theory, technical charts are throwing up bullish signals. Both the Dow and the Dow transportation index have topped their January highs. Still, many strategists are skeptical about any potential advance from this point.

As far as local stock indices are concerned, the Nifty levels to watch out for are 4400 on the downside and 4520 in the immediate future. It is reasonable for the market to take a breather after a sharp and strong advance like the one we have had since early March. One cannot expect a linear, one-way movement in key indices to last long. A little pause is normal and perhaps healthy.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs6.4bn in the cash segment on Monday on a provisional basis while the local funds pumped in Rs861.4mn, according to figures published on the NSE's web site. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers at Rs1.5bn. On Friday, the foreign funds were net sellers at Rs8.46bn in the cash segment. Their net purchases of Indian stocks have crossed $7.2bn year-to-date. Mutual Funds were net sellers at Rs2.76bn on Friday.

Mark Mobius said yesterday that global stocks will drop as much as 30% after advancing from multiyear lows and as companies increase share sales. The slide can happen anytime, probably this year, Mobius, the executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd., said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. He said he was referring to shares “globally.”

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying corporate debt and securities issued by governments outside the US as the billionaire investor’s spending on stocks falls to the lowest in more than five years, according to an Aug. 7 regulatory filing.

US stocks fell on Monday, led by commodity producers and retailers, after four straight weeks of gains left the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index trading at the highest level relative to earnings since 2004.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points, or 0.3%, to 9,337. The Dow Transportation Average slipped 38 points, or 1%, to 3,710.

The S&P 500 Index dipped 3 points, or 0.3%, to 1,007, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 8 points, or 0.4%, to 1,992.

Four stocks fell for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 climbed 2.3% last week, rising above 1,000 for the first time since November. Monday's pullback came after stocks hit fresh 2009 highs on Friday on data that showed a drop in the US unemployment rate.

Traders are betting the VIX, a gauge of expected stock swings, will increase 13% in the next five weeks. That’s the biggest spread since August 2008, right before the S&P 500 suffered the steepest two-month plunge in 21 years.

The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the international shipping rates of dry bulk cargo, fell below 3,000 for the first time since May last week to close its worst week since October of 2008. On Monday, it tumbled another 135 points, or 4.6%, to 2,772.

A group of retailers, homebuilders, restaurant chains and other so-called consumer discretionary companies, which has gained 64% since March 9, fell 1.2% for the second-biggest decline among the 10 main S&P 500 industries.

Gold producers retreated with the price of bullion, which fell 1.3% to $946.90 an ounce in New York, the steepest decline since July 28. Producers of raw materials slumped 1.6% collectively, the steepest drop among 10 industries in the S&P 500. The group has rallied 23% in the past month.

Eli Lilly dropped 3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the drugmaker to “sell” from “neutral” and added the stock to its “conviction sell” list, saying its “patent cliff” is the largest in the industry.

Best Buy slipped 5.3% after Goldman Sachs reduced its recommendation on shares of the world’s largest electronics retailer to “neutral” from “buy,” citing competition, “erosion” in entertainment software and “aggressive” spending to fuel growth.

Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, fell after it was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by a UBS analyst, who said the shares are expensive. The shares retreated 4.9%.

Freddie Mac jumped 128% after reporting its first profit in two years. The mortgage-finance company reported second-quarter net income of $768 million and didn’t ask the US Treasury for more aid.

McDonald’s added 1.9% for the best gain in the Dow after reporting global sales rose 4.3% in July, more than some analysts estimated, on demand for hamburgers and McCafe coffees.

Priceline.com Inc., an internet travel agency, advanced 14% after it forecast third-quarter profit above analysts’ estimates. The company said third-quarter earnings will be $2.70 to $2.85 a share, on an adjusted basis. The average of 13 analysts’ estimates is $2.57 a share.

Barnes & Noble Inc. rallied 4%, the highest closing price since June 4. The largest US bookstore chain agreed to buy Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc. for $596 million from Leonard Riggio, the retailer’s chairman and founder.

Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group fell again in London. The FTSE 100 index declined 0.2%, giving up 20.97 points to 4,722.20. Other European shares were also lower to begin the week.

Germany's DAX index declined 0.8% to 5,418.12, and the French CAC-40 index lost 0.5% to 3,504.54.

Indian markets extended losses to third straight trading session on Monday on reports that monsoon rains might be the weakest in over half a decade having an impact over the economic revival. A virtual disappearance of rains is a big worry and a drought is the last thing that India needs at this crucial juncture.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday cut its seasonal monsoon forecast due to the weakening of the rainfall activity over the past few days. Rains in the June-September season would be 87% of the long-period average (LPA) compared with 93% forecast made on June 24, Ajit Tyagi, the Director General of the IMD was quoted as saying. Actual rains can be 4% more or less than the forecast, Tyagi said.

In addition, growing concern over the outburst of the pandemic flu in India hit the sentiment on Dalal Street. The death toll due to the deadly Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus has touched six in the country. The latest casualties are: a 35-year-old ayurvedic doctor and a four-year-old boy in Pune and Chennai, respectively. The doctor, Babasahib Mane, died in the Sassoon Hospital in Pune this morning, becoming the third person to succumb to swine flu in the leading industrial city of Maharashtra.

The Auto, FMCG and the Capital Goods stocks were among the heavily offloaded ones. On the other hand, bucking negative trend were the IT, telecom stocks.

The BSE Sensex slipped 150 points or 1% at 15,009 after touching a high of 15,417 and a low of 14,902. The index opened at 15,287 against the previous close of 15,160. The NSE Nifty ended lower by 44 points to shut shop at 4,437.

In Asia, the Nikkei in Japan ended higher by 1% at 10,524 while Australia's S&P/ASX ended higher by 0.2% at 4,304. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended higher by 2.8% at 20,929. Shanghai index in China slipped by 0.3% at 3,249.

In Europe, stocks were trading lower. The FTSE in the UK was down 0.6%. The DAX was down 0.7% and the CAC 40 index in France was down 0.6%.

Coming back to India, among the BSE sectoral indices, the Auto index was the top loser, losing 4.5%, followed by the FMCG index that was down 3%. The BSE Capital Goods index down 2% and the BSE Realty index was down 1.6%.

On the other hand, BSE IT index ended with smart gains, up 2.6% followed by BSE Teck index up 1%.

Within the Sensex, the major losers were M&M, ACC, Hero Honda, HUL, Tata Motors, Maruti and Grasim. Among the major gainers were TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Power, ONGC and Hindalco.

Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Educomp, Indian Hotels, Madras Cement, Chambal Fert and Nagarjuna Const. On the other hand, gainers included Mphasis, Torrent Power, Yes Bank, Apollo Hospital and Tulup Tele.

Shares of Cipla surged by over 3% to Rs281 in a weak market after the company’s Joint MD Amar Lulla said that Cipla has already received proposals from people on behalf of countries in Latin America, Mexico and Israel. “We have the capability to supply 1.5mn dosages of the drug within 4-6 weeks,” he was quoted as saying.

Cipla and other Indian pharma majors can now legally manufacture generic versions of Tamiflu after the patent office in Delhi last month rejected a patent application by Swiss company Roche, which markets the antiviral in India. With this, Indian companies can export the generic versions to countries where Tamiflu is not patented.

The swine flu outbreak that was first reported from Mexico has so far claimed over 100 lives and has now spread to Canada, parts of Europe, and at least five states in the US, where it has already been declared a public health emergency.

In India there have been six deaths so far from the deadly influenza virus. Cipla sells the drug at Rs1,000 for 10 days, which is much cheaper than the patented ones. Tamiflu (Oseltamivir Phosphate) is a drug developed by American company Gilead, and Roche has the marketing licence for the drug in India. Currently, Hyderabad-based Hetero has an agreement with Roche to develop and market generic Tamiflu.

Shares of Bharti Airtel slipped by 2.5% to Rs374 after reports stated that the company may increase its offer by 5-10% for a stake in MTN.

With the exclusive merger talks between both the companies being extended till August 31, reports stated that Bharti Airtel is working on a revised offer that might demand higher cash out flow and additional debt to be raised by the company to fund the transaction.

Shares of Glenmark Pharma gained by 2.5% to Rs259 after the company announced that Crofelemer, a potential first-in-class innovative drug for multiple indications including HIV-Associated Diarrhea completed the dose selection stage (Stage-I) of the Phase-III trial for the treatment of chronic diarrhea in people living which HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapies.

Shares of Mundra Port gained by 3.5% to Rs559 after the company consortium bags Mormugao Port coal terminal development concessions. The stock opened at Rs544 and made an intra-day high of Rs566 and a low of Rs542. Total traded volumes stood at 2.3mn shares.

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors has received a 3-year financing facility of as much as 75mn pounds from Burdale Financial Ltd., a member of the Bank of Ireland Group.

The package consists of a three year committed facility to finance Land Rover’s parts and accessories inventories and receivables in UK and US.

In April, JLR was granted a 340mn pound loan facility by the European investment bank but parent group Tata is still locked in talks with the Government over an underwriting of the finance.

Shares of Tata Motors ended lower by 3.2% to Rs400. The stock opened at Rs424 and made an intra-day high of Rs428 and a low of Rs394. Total traded volumes stood at 2mn shares.

We recommend a sell in the stock of Union Bank of India from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that it had been on an intermediate-term uptrend from its March low of Rs 115 to its July high of Rs 264. However, the stock was experiencing selling interest around resistance levels of Rs 260. A negative divergence displayed in the daily moving average convergence and divergence triggered the stock’s trend reversal. Since the July high, the stock has been on a short-term downtrend. In late July, the stock breached its 21-day moving average and penetrated its intermediate-term uptrend-line as well as 50-day moving average, declining almost 4 per cent on August 10. With this decline, the daily relative strength index (RSI) has entered the bearish zone from the neutral region and weekly RSI has entered the neutral region from the bullish zone. We are bearish on the stock from a short-term perspective. We expect it to decline until it hits our price target of Rs 197. Traders with a short-term perspective can sell the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 230.

Yellow metal prices fell once again on Monday, 10 August, 2009. Prices fell as the dollar continued to strengthen and also due to lower investment demand.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.

On Monday, gold for December delivery ended at $946.9, lower by $12.6 (1.3%) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, gold ended higher by almost 0.4%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 6.5%.

Gold ended July, 2009 higher by 2.8%. Before this, for the second quarter, gold ended higher by 0.5%. The metal had gained 4.3% in the first quarter of this year.

On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. But prices have dropped somewhat (11.6%) since then.

On Monday, Comex silver futures for September delivery lost 31.3 cents (2.1%) at $14.355 an ounce. Last week, silver ended higher by 5.2%.

Silver ended 2.7% higher for July, 2009. For second quarter, silver rose 4.5%. Year to date, silver has climbed 29.6% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.

In the currency market on Monday, the dollar index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback's value, rose by almost 0.6%.

In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.

At the MCX, gold prices for October delivery closed lower by Rs 127 (0.85%) at Rs 14,741 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 14,857 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 14,690 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for September delivery closed Rs 355 (1.51%) lower at Rs 23,031/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 23,360/kg and fell to a low of Rs 22,893/Kg during the day's trading.